Iranians Angered by Treatment of Leader

Excerpt from article:

The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter to Bollinger on Tuesday saying his statements were "deeply shameful" and inviting him to come to Iran. In the letter, they asked him to provide responses to 10 questions ranging from: "Why did the U.S. support the bloodthirsty dictator Saddam Hussein during the 1980-88 Iraqi-imposed war on Iran?" to "Why has the U.S. military failed to find Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden even with all its advanced equipment?"

From the Associated Press - September 25, 2007|

TEHRAN: Many Iranians reacted angrily Tuesday to the combative introduction of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by the president of Columbia University, calling it "shameful" and saying the harsh words only added to their image of the United States as a bully.

In a part of the world where the tradition of hospitality outweighs personal opinions toward a person, many here thought Lee Bollinger's aggressive tone before Ahmadinejad's appearance - including saying that he exhibited the signs of a "petty and cruel dictator" - was over the top.

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